Dying to lose your period – the story that broke my heart.

Let it be known, eating a lot of ANY one food isn’t a diet solution (at the very least, common sense does tell us that much). Eating a lot of one type of food so that you lose your menstrual cycle – this is taking lack of understanding of the human body to a whole new level. But the most disturbing part of the whole thing; (because you didn’t think I was serious, right?) to think there is a person out there spreading this message, appealing to young women (and wearing nothing more than a loin cloth) gets my adrenals going faster than a techno beat in a nightclub. As sure as your body knows how to breathe, how to blink, how to digest, how to pump blood around and so on – it knows how to menstruate.

It’s pretty plain and simple; if we weren’t meant to menstruate, we wouldn’t.

You might be wondering who would spread such a heartbreaking message. I’m not here to point the finger. I’m not here to do anything other than share truths and open the minds of people who want to understand their bodies better and I’m sure by now we’ve established at least this, we’ve been hanging out here for years now. I certainly won’t give the actual source of the misguided information any traffic or attention (and therefore I won’t reveal the source of the information) and let’s be honest here, this article wasn’t the first of it’s kind and sadly It’s highly unlikely it will be the last. But when I read about how the raw vegan diet stripped this girl of her menstrual cycle and she was so joyous about it – devastated was an understatement. Then, what really drove it home was the profile and appeal of this girl – that young women aspired to be like her and were being lead in a direction that couldn’t have been further from how our bodies are innately programmed to work. To learn that the message goes on to get more disturbing, sharing with those who will listen (and the following is substantial) about the time she ‘fell off the wagon’ and started eating high fat, vegan (as opposed to no fat, vegan) and to her horror, her period came back!

My my – isn’t the body clever!

I tried to justify this shock story in my own mind; surely the media had blown the message out of proportion and that surely there wasn’t somebody out there saying menstruation was unhealthy? (although that’s isn’t an original idea, seems many health care practitioners are telling us it’s perfectly safe to skip a period – shame the means to do this is by use of the oral contraceptive pill!) Seems even for what could have been blown out of proportion perhaps, the undertone of it all was that, instincts told this person that it felt good not to have a proper period – and that the body felt balanced and as if it were ovulating which felt good to her. The reasonable question was posed ‘If it is so unhealthy for me not to have my period then why did I feel so amazing? Everyone was saying you look amazing, your skin, your hair, everything is just balancing out.’

But having a period isn’t about how good you look, how thin you are or how great your skin is. Having a menstrual cycle is the crux of wellness as a woman – the most femininely innate event your body was put on this planet to perform.

This women’s intentions may be good. The major problem lies in the fact that the message being spread is harmful, especially to young women or the confused alike. If your period is out of whack, please work to fix it, don’t lose it – that’s your very own neon flashing sign that your body isn’t happy or health needs a tune up, immediate attention and care. Menstruation isn’t toxicity leaving the body (her words) nor are painful periods necessarily due to ‘toxicity’ or a toxic body. Menstruation is a gift – a sure sign your body is potentially fertile (and sure, it may need further tweaking but you’re halfway there!). Any women who’s had it taken away from her will be the first to tell you just how precious having your cycle is. And what’s more, as women we rely on our cycles for so much more than just menstruation. We are cyclic beings, our whole menstrual cycle influences our moods, our creativity, our downtime, our sex drive and so much more.

Above all, please share truthful information with your loved ones and continue to collect your own information so you can always make well informed decisions to best suit your body for the many more years you have to live in your temple. Young women need to understand themselves now more than ever – it’s hard enough being a young women and discovering yourself without foggy, untrue examples of wellness and what it means to be a real woman – menstruation and all and it’s up to us to spread information that will continue to allow us to thrive.

Of course it goes without saying but if you are super confused about your body systems, Debunking Ovulation and Debunking PCOS were created for this very reason – to educate, empower and share truthful information all women can benefit from. This is the stuff young women can utilise to set up foundations for long term wellness to pass onto generations to come.

32 Comments

July 17, 2014By Kylie8:39 am

Hi Nat,
I followed this low fat vegan lifestyle not perfectly but when I did mess up it was with processed junk food so not a good combination started in 2012 felt amazing for 6 months but hen in 2013 I only got my cycle 3 times in the whole year my hormones were a mess and I put on 15kgs I think mainly due to hormones and from feeling like crap not having the energy or motivation to exercise. As my husband and I are trying for a baby this was not good.
I found your website and ebooks and started adding fat actually at first a lot of fat all good fats from nuts , coconut oil, avocado ect I feel strongly about not eating animals however did re introduce chicken and salmon at my naturopath request. I now have a cycle every month for the last 6 months when introducing these changes I have also lost 12kgs naturally no dieting I think it’s just my body balancing out now my hormones are working. I’m yet to conceive but hopefully I’m now on track.
Thank you for your great website and information,
Kind regards,
Kylie Casey

Hi Nat,
I followed this low fat vegan lifestyle not perfectly but when I did mess up it was with processed junk food so not a good combination started in 2012 felt amazing for 6 months but hen in 2013 I only got my cycle 3 times in the whole year my hormones were a mess and I put on 15kgs I think mainly due to hormones and from feeling like crap not having the energy or motivation to exercise. As my husband and I are trying for a baby this was not good.
I found your website and ebooks and started adding fat actually at first a lot of fat all good fats from nuts , coconut oil, avocado ect I feel strongly about not eating animals however did re introduce chicken and salmon at my naturopath request. I now have a cycle every month for the last 6 months when introducing these changes I have also lost 12kgs naturally no dieting I think it’s just my body balancing out now my hormones are working. I’m yet to conceive but hopefully I’m now on track.
Thank you for your great website and information,
Kind regards,
Kylie Casey

Keep fighting the good fight Nat. The fantastic wealth of information you have shared with me has inspired me to help other women and young girls to take an invested interest in their fertility and to appreciate the awesome power of our cycle. You are the bomb diggity 🙂

Keep fighting the good fight Nat. The fantastic wealth of information you have shared with me has inspired me to help other women and young girls to take an invested interest in their fertility and to appreciate the awesome power of our cycle. You are the bomb diggity 🙂

I could not agree with you more Nat. A sad state of the world where young women abuse their body and their sacred delicate reproductive systems – the very system that makes them innately women and nurtures the miracle of conception and birth. How anyone could blindly undermine the body’s function like this truly bamboozles me.

I could not agree with you more Nat. A sad state of the world where young women abuse their body and their sacred delicate reproductive systems – the very system that makes them innately women and nurtures the miracle of conception and birth. How anyone could blindly undermine the body’s function like this truly bamboozles me.

Hi Nat, thank you for sharing this post. A decade or so ago, that young woman was me. After suffering from anorexia for over a year my cycle completely stopped and in my delusional mind that was a little flag of victory. It brings tears to my eyes to say that now. I went without a cycle for over three years and at the time, it didn’t bother me at all. When doctors told me I may never have children, the words fell to deaf ears. Thankfully, as my mind and body slowly healed, my cycle returned to normal. To hear that someone in the public eye, someone that young women look up to is advocating that to forgo your period is a good thing, is indeed heartbreaking. To think that we have gone so far beyond what our bodies are here to naturally do and to purposefully prevent this beautiful cycle is mind blowing. I hope that all young women out there can read your article and listen to a deeper knowing that they are perfect, that a women’s period is about giving and sustaining life, and I hope that anyone who thinks otherwise has access to some help to see clearly again. Much love. x

So agree and thank you for sharing this heart felt comment with us too, Kelly. I’ve felt compelled from this and Nat raising awareness to this , to blog of my own experience (a little similar to yours). Love to you xx

Hi Nat, thank you for sharing this post. A decade or so ago, that young woman was me. After suffering from anorexia for over a year my cycle completely stopped and in my delusional mind that was a little flag of victory. It brings tears to my eyes to say that now. I went without a cycle for over three years and at the time, it didn’t bother me at all. When doctors told me I may never have children, the words fell to deaf ears. Thankfully, as my mind and body slowly healed, my cycle returned to normal. To hear that someone in the public eye, someone that young women look up to is advocating that to forgo your period is a good thing, is indeed heartbreaking. To think that we have gone so far beyond what our bodies are here to naturally do and to purposefully prevent this beautiful cycle is mind blowing. I hope that all young women out there can read your article and listen to a deeper knowing that they are perfect, that a women’s period is about giving and sustaining life, and I hope that anyone who thinks otherwise has access to some help to see clearly again. Much love. x

So agree and thank you for sharing this heart felt comment with us too, Kelly. I’ve felt compelled from this and Nat raising awareness to this , to blog of my own experience (a little similar to yours). Love to you xx

About 2 years ago I watched Food Inc and became almost vegan overnight, and then started researching about veganism, from my research I was certain I was doing the right thing and I could be healthy. I never actually lost my period, probably because I was still eating fats, but I did lose a lot of weight, had terrible digestive issues and got very sick. I know there are alot of healthy vegans in the world, but I love your message of listening to your body, and I just hate to think that young women might be influenced by this woman, as I know I was influenced by certain people, I wouldn’t want anyone to end up as sick and emaciated as I was!

I agree Jemma, people with a public profile really need to take the responsibility seriously and understand the brevity of their influence. I was really influenced by particular bloggers with my eating habits early last year. That style of eating turned out not to be right for me but my digestion etc was already terrible – it probably just acted as the smack in the face I needed to really get on the right track. It’s led me to a whole host of discoveries about my body and I’m finally eating better than I ever have, in a way my body can manage.
Unfortunately not everyone knows how to listen to their bodies and it’s sad to think of the damage they can be doing to their whole system by going to such extremes.

About 2 years ago I watched Food Inc and became almost vegan overnight, and then started researching about veganism, from my research I was certain I was doing the right thing and I could be healthy. I never actually lost my period, probably because I was still eating fats, but I did lose a lot of weight, had terrible digestive issues and got very sick. I know there are alot of healthy vegans in the world, but I love your message of listening to your body, and I just hate to think that young women might be influenced by this woman, as I know I was influenced by certain people, I wouldn’t want anyone to end up as sick and emaciated as I was!

I agree Jemma, people with a public profile really need to take the responsibility seriously and understand the brevity of their influence. I was really influenced by particular bloggers with my eating habits early last year. That style of eating turned out not to be right for me but my digestion etc was already terrible – it probably just acted as the smack in the face I needed to really get on the right track. It’s led me to a whole host of discoveries about my body and I’m finally eating better than I ever have, in a way my body can manage.
Unfortunately not everyone knows how to listen to their bodies and it’s sad to think of the damage they can be doing to their whole system by going to such extremes.

Wow!! Some people have NO idea. I am a personal trainer and wellness coach and some of my clients are very open to me about their periods and symptoms and some have asked me on my thoughts of skipping their period (due to the contraceptive pill), it shocks me that people even think of this. I know that time of the month can be a pain in the bum but as you say so well Nat, it is natural and normal.
I was on the pill for 12 years and came off it a few months back and was totally worried about how my body would react and now each time my period comes along I am so grateful for the symptoms I get because I know my body is doing what it should be doing.
Keep spreading the word Nat and I will definitely be sharing this post with my Facebook followers. xxx

Wow!! Some people have NO idea. I am a personal trainer and wellness coach and some of my clients are very open to me about their periods and symptoms and some have asked me on my thoughts of skipping their period (due to the contraceptive pill), it shocks me that people even think of this. I know that time of the month can be a pain in the bum but as you say so well Nat, it is natural and normal.
I was on the pill for 12 years and came off it a few months back and was totally worried about how my body would react and now each time my period comes along I am so grateful for the symptoms I get because I know my body is doing what it should be doing.
Keep spreading the word Nat and I will definitely be sharing this post with my Facebook followers. xxx

Wow, I just found this video on YouTube and it is seriously disturbing! Especially as so many young women are looking up to her. It is so sad to see how some women abuse their bodies and apparently hate their femininity.
Thanks so much for writing this brilliant blog post. I am one of those women who are constantly working on getting the periods and having a regular cycle – so obviously I love my periods 😉

Wow, I just found this video on YouTube and it is seriously disturbing! Especially as so many young women are looking up to her. It is so sad to see how some women abuse their bodies and apparently hate their femininity.
Thanks so much for writing this brilliant blog post. I am one of those women who are constantly working on getting the periods and having a regular cycle – so obviously I love my periods 😉